This is the debut album from US death metal band Distention.
Featuring current and ex-members of bands such as Equipoise, Rivers of Nihil, The Kennedy Veil, The Last Ten Seconds of Life, and Virulent Depravity, you know a lot of experience has gone into the 30 minutes of brutal material on Nothing Comes from Death, and it shows.
For a starting point, think of a mix of bands such as Decapitated, Man Must Die, Ingested, Job for a Cowboy, The Zenith Passage, and Soreption, and you’ll be on the right lines.
The songs are harsh, heavy, and aggressive. They’re song-based explosions of devastation, and provide condensed packages of adrenaline-charged enjoyment for fans of death metal carnage. Distention unleash murderous grooves and withering blast beats, and know how to interlace the two to good effect. The well-written songs are brutal and intense, but don’t neglect hooks or effective songcraft. The band’s style mixes elements from multiple eras, and offers a compelling mix of old and new influences that come together cohesively.
The music is imbued with a decent amount of technicality, which services the needs of the songs without becoming overbearing or showy. There’s also a dynamic deathcore energy in places that allows the songs to benefit from a furious delivery, but without succumbing to many of the pitfalls of that much-maligned style. I can easily imagine these songs going down a storm live.
Nothing Comes from Death is a solid, concise, easily digested album that’s effortlessly enjoyable. Well-crafted by people that know the style well and know what works and what doesn’t, this is an album of good songs by a band that are just crushing it.
Wonderbox Metal 